A meta-analysis of 10 trials found chair-based exercise improved muscle endurance, flexibility and dynamic balance in postmenopausal women, but not handgrip strength or static balance.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 509 participants pooled · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
A network meta-analysis of 26 trials found whole-body vibration, balance, balance plus nutrition, and resistance exercise improved balance scores in perimenopausal and early postmenopausal women.
Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2023PerimenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed
In 151 postmenopausal women over 18 months, a combined exercise program increased lumbar spine bone density, and adding whole body vibration lowered the number of falls but not bone density further.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 151 women · 78 weeks · 2011PostmenopausalCited 101 timesPubMed
A systematic review of nine studies using virtual reality exercise games in climacteric women found improvements in pelvic floor strength, balance, cardiorespiratory fitness and bone density versus conventional approaches.
Reported an improvementSystematic review · 298 participants pooled · 2022PerimenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed
Women averaging 69 years did an 18 month multipurpose exercise program and researchers reported increased lean mass and strength and reduced body fat compared to an active control group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 246 women · 78 weeks · 2010Midlife womenCited 56 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women aged 60 to 84 with osteoporosis and prior vertebral fracture who did 3 months of circuit exercises had better walking speed, balance and quality of life at 3 and 12 months than controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 89 women · 12 weeks · 2011PostmenopausalCited 67 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporotic spinal fractures did 10 weeks of balance and strength physiotherapy training, reporting less pain, improved quality of life, and improved muscle strength.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 53 women · 10 weeks · 1998PostmenopausalCited 91 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis did 18 weeks of progressive quadriceps strength and proprioception training and had fewer falls, better balance and quality of life than controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 85 women · 18 weeks · 2010PostmenopausalCited 50 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women aged 50 to 75 did 9 months of weighted vest exercise and showed improved balance, leg strength and power versus controls, but no change in femoral neck bone mass.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 44 women · 39 weeks · 1998PostmenopausalCited 75 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women who practiced a modified Eight-Section Brocade exercise for 12 months, with or without calcium, had increased bone density, less back pain and better balance than controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 198 women · 52 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 36 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporotic vertebral fractures did a structured exercise program twice weekly for 12 months and showed better quality of life, balance and functional mobility than controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 78 women · 52 weeks · 2016PostmenopausalCited 39 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteopenia did 52 weeks of hip-targeted strength, balance and jumping exercise with calcium, and showed a small hip bone density benefit plus better quality of life versus controls.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 39 women · 52 weeks · 2012PostmenopausalCited 49 timesPubMed
Older postmenopausal cancer survivors did tai ji quan, strength training, or stretching twice weekly for 6 months and researchers found no difference in fall incidence between groups.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 462 women · 26 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 21 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis did 6 months of balance and strength exercise and showed improved static and dynamic balance and upper and lower limb strength compared with controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 65 women · 26 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 35 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis did a 12 week program combining resistance, balance and aerobic exercise; the exercise group improved functional measures like Timed Up and Go and fall-efficacy more than controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 96 women · 12 weeks · 2021PostmenopausalCited 26 timesPubMed
Sedentary postmenopausal women did foot stamping, squats and line dancing; the program maintained hip bone density and improved leg strength and balance.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 45 women · 2007PostmenopausalCited 36 timesPubMed
In a 12-month RCT, osteoporotic women aged 65 and over doing sensomotor balance training improved balance scores and had fewer falls than controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 100 women · 52 weeks · 2017PostmenopausalCited 23 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis did 10 months of land or aquatic exercise; land exercise improved muscle strength, flexibility, gait time, pain and bone density more than aquatic exercise.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 58 women · 43 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 22 timesPubMed
Sedentary women with osteoporosis did a 6 month self-management and activity program, which improved pain, quality of life, balance and function versus control.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 50 women · 26 weeks · 2007PostmenopausalCited 24 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteopenia and a healed wrist fracture did a 6-month weighted vest and balance exercise programme, showing no significant difference from education alone in strength, bone density, balance or quality of life.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 80 women · 26 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 17 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with low bone density did nine months of resistance exercise plus either balance training or whole body vibration and researchers found both groups improved some balance measures with no difference between groups.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 57 women · 39 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 15 timesPubMed
Sedentary women aged 40 to 60 did a balance-strategy training program twice weekly for 12 weeks, improving balance, ankle flexibility and leg muscle strength versus controls, with benefits maintained at 9 months.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 50 women · 12 weeks · 2009Midlife womenCited 16 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women aged 50 to 70, 8 weeks of core and balance exercises with or without vitamin D improved balance and quality of life, with no added benefit from vitamin D.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 99 women · 8 weeks · 2021PostmenopausalCited 10 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with low bone density did 9 months of resistance training plus either whole body vibration or balance training; vibration produced greater gains in jump power.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 57 women · 36 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 13 timesPubMed
In 42 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis-related kyphosis, adding kinesiotaping to an exercise program reduced pain but did not improve kyphosis angle or balance more than exercise alone.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 42 women · 6 weeks · 2019PostmenopausalCited 11 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteopenia did Kinect-based virtual reality training plus daily walking for 24 weeks and showed greater improvements in physical performance and quality of life than walking alone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 52 women · 24 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 9 timesPubMed
Middle-aged women did 12 weeks of vibration training or conventional strength training, with vibration improving postural sway and both groups gaining knee strength.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 38 women · 12 weeks · 2010Midlife womenCited 13 timesPubMed
914 older women aged around 76 were followed for 2 years in an exercise intervention trial, and better balance and functional test scores predicted fewer falls and fall injuries.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 914 women · 104 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
In 151 postmenopausal women over one year, multifunctional training with or without whole-body vibration increased lumbar spine bone density, and vibration training reduced falls versus controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 151 women · 52 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 9 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis did 6 weeks of virtual reality or traditional strength-balance training and researchers reported the VR group had reduced fear of falling and improved balance control.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 20 women · 6 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 9 timesPubMed
In middle-aged women, 4 weeks of interval cycle training improved balance test scores more with a standard cycle ergometer than a strength ergometer.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 24 women · 4 weeks · 2009Midlife womenCited 11 timesPubMed
32 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis did 12 weeks of conventional exercise with or without added Tree Pose yoga; both groups improved balance measures, with added gains in single-leg stance.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 32 women · 12 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, 12 weeks of balance and coordination training improved balance, while strengthening exercise improved pain, and no falls occurred during follow-up.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 12 weeks · 2018PostmenopausalCited 15 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 14 weeks of functional training; both element-based and task-specific programs improved functional reach, gait speed and quality of life versus control.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 47 women · 14 weeks · 2020PostmenopausalCited 5 timesPubMed
Middle-aged women with high fall risk did 4 weeks of motor imagery training combined with brain stimulation and showed greater improvement in static and dynamic balance than controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 30 women · 4 weeks · 2023Midlife womenCited 5 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women with osteoporosis doing an 18 month exercise program, individually coached and group coached training showed similar improvements in physical function and activity levels.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 52 women · 78 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
In 39 middle-aged women, 12 weeks of single-leg strength training produced crossover strength and balance gains in the untrained leg, stronger when the non-dominant leg trained.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 39 women · 12 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 4 timesPubMed
24 middle-aged women did water-based neuromuscular stabilization training twice weekly for 12 weeks and showed improved balance and functional movement scores versus controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 24 women · 12 weeks · 2024Midlife womenCited 4 timesPubMed
Middle-aged women aged 47 to 53 took part in a Greek folk dance programme, which improved static and dynamic postural balance compared to a control group.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 63 women · 2015Midlife womenCited 4 timesPubMed
Thirty-four middle-aged women with knee pain did 12 weeks of rehabilitative exercise scheduled in massed or distributed sessions, and both improved balance, functional performance and pain versus control.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 34 women · 12 weeks · 2023Midlife womenCited 3 timesPubMed
In a 12-week RCT, 24 middle-aged women used a home Wii Fit Plus balance program with 95% compliance but no significant improvement in total balance scale scores versus control.
Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 24 women · 12 weeks · 2019Midlife womenCited 3 timesPubMed
A 6-month adapted exercise program in 44 postmenopausal women with vertebral fractures improved quality of life, fear of falling, balance, gait, and functional exercise capacity compared with controls.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 44 women · 26 weeks · 2019PostmenopausalCited 18 timesPubMed
In 194 women aged 65 to 79 with osteopenia or osteoporosis, 9 months of dynamic multicomponent exercise improved gait speed, trunk endurance, and balance more than OsteoStrong, though both improved grip and back strength.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 194 women · 39 weeks · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
An RCT of 51 middle-aged women with chronic low back pain found core stability and postural control training both reduced pain and disability, with postural training also improving proprioception.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 51 women · 2026Midlife womenPubMed
Postmenopausal women with low bone mass and past fractures followed a long-term home exercise program, but showed no differences in fracture rates, falls, or bone density versus controls.
No difference foundControlled trial · 25 women · 2000PostmenopausalCited 20 timesPubMed
An 8 week high-intensity functional exercise program improved physical performance, dual-task performance and menopausal symptom scores in postmenopausal women aged 50 to 65 compared with controls.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 40 women · 8 weeks · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
Fall-prone postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of Taijiquan and improved balance, flexibility, arm curl strength, and handgrip strength versus controls.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 50 women · 12 weeks · 2024PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
Women aged around 75 did a 12-session Judo-inspired fall-training program and showed significantly improved backward and lateral fall competence versus controls.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 45 women · 2025PostmenopausalCited 3 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 19 weeks of community-based high- and odd-impact, resistance and balance training and showed reduced body fat and modest bone density gains but no change in strength or balance.
No difference foundControlled trial · 22 women · 19 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
Over six weeks, postmenopausal obese women doing aquatic resistance, balance and proprioceptive training showed greater improvements in strength, balance and ankle-foot alignment than land-based exercise.
Reported an improvementControlled trial · 143 women · 6 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalPubMed
Among 60 postmenopausal women, worse single-leg balance and slower timed-up-and-go walking tests were associated with lower bone mineral density on DEXA scans.
Direction not statedCross-sectional study · 60 women · 2021PostmenopausalCited 12 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with osteopenia did a 6-month weighted-vest and education program, with high adherence and improved quadriceps strength and hip bone density.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 42 women · 26 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed
In 63 postmenopausal women with low bone mass, jumping power, not muscle strength or size, was most strongly related to postural control on an unstable surface.
Mixed resultsCross-sectional study · 63 women · 2018PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
This narrative review summarized medical literature finding that regular exercise in midlife and postmenopausal women is linked with reduced obesity, cancer, dementia, mood symptoms, and osteoporosis.
Reported an improvementOther · 2015Midlife womenCited 56 timesPubMed
In 38 postmenopausal women with low bone density, 8 months of weekly OsteoStrong sessions did not improve hip or spine bone density, though some physical function measures improved.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 38 women · 32 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
Three elderly women did 40 weeks of jumping, balance and strength exercise, with or without raloxifene, which improved balance, gait speed and leg strength but had limited effect on bone density.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 3 women · 40 weeks · 2002PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
Thirty-six postmenopausal women aged 50 to 70 did 12 weeks of hatha balance flow yoga and showed improved balance, lower-body strength, and upper-body response time versus a control period.
Reported an improvementBefore-and-after study · 36 women · 12 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalPubMed
Postmenopausal women aged 50 to 70 did 12 weeks of twice-weekly hatha Balance Flow Yoga and described perceived physical, emotional and social benefits in focus group discussions.
Direction not statedBefore-and-after study · 36 women · 12 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalPubMed
A position statement concluded regular exercise may reduce bone loss rate and improve muscle strength and balance in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, though less effective than estrogen for bone density.
Reported an improvementOther · 2000PostmenopausalCited 23 timesPubMed
A review of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis found most studies reported exercise improved quality of life and physical domains like muscle strength and balance.
Reported an improvementOther · 2014PostmenopausalCited 11 timesPubMed
A primary care guideline review recommended adults 50 and older, including postmenopausal women, do balance, functional, and resistance training twice weekly to help manage fracture risk.
Direction not statedOther · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed
A review reported that combined muscle strengthening, aerobic, progressive resistance and high impact exercise programs were linked to increased bone mineral density, and balance exercises reduced falls in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.
Reported an improvementOther · 2014PostmenopausalPubMed